can an onboard preamp (active bass) use passive pickups?

#6
Most 'active' basses have passive pickups paired with the preamp/EQ.

Passinwind said:
In general, using active pickups with a separate preamp as well can be seen as being a bit redundant.
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Most preamps are EQs also, which gives tonal versatility in addition to playing technique, so not really redundant.

line6man said:
An active pickup with preamp pairing is a rare occurrence.
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EMGs, MECs, and some Barts that are active pickups are usually, but not always paired with preamp/EQs.
 
#7
JustForSport said:
Most preamps are EQs also, which gives tonal versatility in addition to playing technique, so not really redundant.
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If you already have a buffer two or three inches away from the pickups, having another one physically on/in the pickup is arguably pretty redundant IMHO. I had an EMG equipped guitar like that for many years though, which I liked quite a bit. So as usual, just depends.
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#8
If you already have a buffer two or three inches away from the pickups, having another one physically on/in the pickup is arguably pretty redundant IMHO. I had an EMG equipped guitar like that for many years though, which I liked quite a bit. So as usual, just depends.
Yel_wink.gif
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+1. With a one pickup bass, pretty much entirely redundant. However, with two pickups, the main difference is how the blend pot works and the interaction it has on buffered or unbuffered coils.
 
#9
RobbieK said:
+1. With a one pickup bass, pretty much entirely redundant. However, with two pickups, the main difference is how the blend pot works and the interaction it has on buffered or unbuffered coils.
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Good point, although I am generally not a fan of blend pots, personally.
 
#11
Answering the original question, a preamp will probably work with passive pickups.
However, you may have to change the volume pots if they are not 250K ohms or higher.
If you had active pickups, the pots are probably 25K ohm, which is too low of a resistance value for a passive pickup.

Some preamp manufacturers, offer a low impedance preamp for active pickups and a high impedance preamp for passive pickups.
Usually the difference is in the pots that are sent with the preamp.
Anyway, I'm rambling.
 
#15
Passinwind said:
I am generally not a fan of blend pots, personally.
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interesting to me --- i think i prefer blend knobs. when i have one: i think i'm able to dial in and 'acceptable' tone real quick after having set the two pickups (separately) to my liking. so with a blend knob: it's likely the only one i'm really using most of the night. i've just convinced myself that a blend knob is the most important tool, after levels are set. just me...:)

but i'm interested in your thoughts/experience.

(OP: sorry for the disruption)
 
#16
JRA said:
interesting to me --- i think i prefer blend knobs. when i have one: i think i'm able to dial in and 'acceptable' tone real quick after having set the two pickups (separately) to my liking. so with a blend knob: it's likely the only one i'm really using most of the night. i've just convinced myself that a blend knob is the most important tool, after levels are set. just me...:)

but i'm interested in your thoughts/experience.

(OP: sorry for the disruption)
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First off: do you have a blend plus two individual volumes? Don't recall ever seeing that. I prefer V-V because a blend by itself can't set two pickups to the proportions I generally prefer, things like 80%/92%, 96%/45%, and so on.
 
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#17
Passinwind said:
First off: do you have a blend plus two individual volumes? Don't recall ever seeing that. I prefer V-V because a blend by itself can't set two pickups to the proportions I generally prefer, things like 80%/92%, 96%/45%, and so on.
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no, don't have that:
this instrument: master V, master treble/master bass on a concentric, and blend. it's EMG 'active' stuff on a custom built PJ. it's 20 years old. don't know if EMG still has that setup. but i like what the blend is able to do. the builder and i discussed a blend vs. a toggle, at the time, and i chose blend.

i see your point, though. i like the basic JB setup, VVT, for the reasons you mention. but somehow i keep thinking that the blend is a big plus, for me, when i'm fumbling for tone effect on 'the fly'.

simple minds seek simple solutions, probably. ha!

i can own that! :laugh:
 
#19
Passinwind said:
I prefer V-V because a blend by itself can't set two pickups to the proportions I generally prefer, things like 80%/92%, 96%/45%, and so on.
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well, a blend plus a master volume can.

OK, if your sound is the tone of both pickups isolated from each other and from the output a little bit (including the attendant volume and clarity loss), then yeah, it's not quite the same thing.

if you really wanted to keep that effect, then using an A/C blend would create that isolation loss between the pickups, which i guess would translate to the same kind of sound as a V/V/T with all the knobs turned down a little.

personally i don't miss it. my no-load, ungrounded V/BL/T setup gives a nice sweep without all the output and clarity loss.
 
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#20
walterw said:
well, a blend plus a master volume can.
...
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Except that it can't. At one end you have 100% of, say, bridge. As you turn the blend, the neck comes in but the bridge stays at 100% until you get to the middle, at which point both are 100% then the bridge goes down against 100% neck. Getting something like 60/80 is not possible with a blend pot. There are some that do 70/70 but then 100/100 is not possible.

Of course, and as always in time-honoured TB tradition, the 'best' choice is the one that works for the individual.
 
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